Movies

‘Captain America: Civil War’ gets a new trailer, ‘Fantastic Four 2’ may never be that lucky

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Via: Forbes, Wired

If you’re a fan (willing to admit it or not) of the big budget super hero movies being pumped out by the likes of Disney, Marvel (by way of Fox), Paramount, and Columbia, there’s a fair bit of news for you to get caught up on. Let’s dive in and take a look at all that’s new in the Marvel/D.C. universes, aside from the impending arrival of Batman Vs. Superman.

The upcoming ‘Captain America: Civil War’ movie gets a new trailer as of today, in which we see the feud between Captain America and Iron Man grow even deeper. The plot line from ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’ continues, with the rift between the titular character and Iron Man developing when Captain America wants to protect his old friend, who it appears, the government is now after. Beyond that, the preview doesn’t give away too much other than what characters are involved (there are many, including the introduction of Spiderman in this one). So many in fact, that this continuous plot from the previous movie comes as a welcome source of consistency. Check out the trailer, below.

However, one such movie that may never have the privilege of receiving a multitude of trailers is the potentially doomed ‘Fantastic Four 2’ picture. As was well documented last summer, audiences by no means flocked to this most recent iteration of the ‘Fantastic Four’ franchise, which starred Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, among others, in a strong ensemble (well, four main characters) cast. The movie was a well defined flop, taking in only $56.1 million domestically on a $125 million budget. There were largely-circulating rumors before the release of tension between director Joshua Trank and the studio, and overall negative reviews seem to have sealed the fate of this reboot-origin story. And now, only a few months later, the sequel to that picture has been officially removed from release calendars.

Is this a warning about an impending fatigue amongst audiences with these super hero movies? Or was this single movie just off the mark? Studios are hoping for the latter, but realistically, it will be audiences themselves who ultimately decide.

Is Netflix’s ‘Making of a Murderer’ the next big documentary event?

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Source: Indiewire

Documentaries are enjoying more popularity than seemingly ever before these days, and a new one from Netflix looks to be the next ‘big event’ in the genre.

Perhaps because they are more accessible than ever before with the likes of Netflix, on-demand services, and other streaming sites, documentaries are having a veritable renaissance at the moment. Films like ‘Blackfish’ and ‘Food Inc.’ have stirred massive discussion around their topics, and even real-world effects, but it is another sub-genre of the documentary altogether that seems to be the most popular these days. And that is the crime documentary.

Popularized by documentaries like ‘Serial’ (which was actually a podcast) and the Robert Durst-profiling ‘The Jinx’, completely true crime series have exploded in popularity. Perhaps feeding an audience that grew up on CSI and Law & Order: SVU, both have posted ratings previously untouched by the non-fiction investigative genre. And an upcoming entry from Netflix is looking to be the next in line for this type of success, while similarly to its genre-predecessors; is looking perhaps to even change the situation it documents.

Titled ‘Making a Murderer’, the series is a 10-episode look at the life and crimes of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man cleared after nearly two decades of imprisonment from one charge, only to be promptly accused of another heinous one. Compiling nearly 10 years of filmmaking into those 10 episodes, the series has been previewed only by a handful of critics, and the feedback is largely positive. The first episode acts a succinct prologue, while the other nine delve deeply into a look at a pair of gruesome crimes, and the small, rural community they consume. Dubbed by some critics as a type of real-life Fargo, it is noted that the characters themselves are perhaps the most compelling element of the series, as their neighborly-midwestern demeanors perhaps underlie far more sinister motives. Ultimately, the series comes down to the question of is Avery a cold-blooded psychopath, a victim of a convoluted and unfair justice system, or both?

Making a Murderer debuts Dec 18 on Netflix.

‘Making a Murderer’ debuts December 18th on Netflix (all 10 episodes, simultaneously); a date which is notably, if only for reasons of somewhat ironic juxtaposition, the same day that ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ debuts in theaters.

Tuesday morning movie trailer round-up

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Summer, and all of the typically blockbuster movies that come along with the season, have now more or less come and gone. While having all of that warm, glorious weather behind us is slightly depressing, there is a lot to look forward to this fall. Beyond the pumpkin-infused…everything; the slate of movies that are set to debut in the next couple of months is seriously stacked.

Indeed, there truly is something for everyone at the movie theater this fall. With intelligent dramas like the new Steve Jobs film, and others like The Witch, Crimson Peak, and the The Revenant (the latest effort from Academy Award winner Alejandro Inaritu) set to debut, even the most ardent of independent and art house film lovers will have plenty to pick from. Trumbo, about a legendary screenwriter blacklisted during the Communist witch hunts of the 1960s, and starring Bryan Cranston in some of his most substantial post-Breaking Bad work to date, (as well as Louis CK!) looks like it will fit into that intelligent drama category as well.

Beyond that, new Sci-Fi efforts like The Martian with Matt Damon starring as an abandoned astronaut struggling to survive on Mars debut next month, and even a Rocky reboot, in which the legendary yet fictional boxer trains the son of the arch enemy; Creed will be showing up in theaters.

Beyond that, there is a live-action remake of the Jungle Book set to hit theaters soon, and a controversial new Lance Armstrong biopic, The Program is certain to have people talking across the country as well. We’ve rounded up a bunch of the trailers for aforementioned films below, and the ones we haven’t, can be found elsewhere on the site.

Trumbo

Crimson Peak

The Jungle Book

The Martian

Creed

Steve Jobs

Horror auteur Wes Craven dead at 76

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Horror represents perhaps the most intriguing, and likely, visceral genre of film we have today. Why do people subject themselves to massive surprises, disgusting gore, and disturbing imagery, all in the name of having fun? It is a question that psychologists have been kicking around for some time now, but whatever the answer may be, horror movies remain some of the most beloved today, mirroring the way it has been since the first version of Dracula was committed to film well over 100 years ago.

And yesterday, we lost one of the masters of that genre, Wes Craven. Known as one of the originators of the ‘slasher’ sub-genre of horror, the man has a huge number of directorial credits on his resume; the most notable of which include the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, and the ‘Scream’ series. Truly a master of his craft, the Scream films, which he made later in his career in the 90’s, are remembered for being incredibly meta, willfully, and in a way that was made incredibly clear to the audience through dialogue, tearing through horror tropes that the man had undoubtedly grown a bit tired of. Truly a sign of how adept a filmmaker he was, the man successfully inverted many themes that he himself had invented in earlier films, and made them horrifying in entirely new ways in his later work, like Scream. He was 76, and died after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

The clip below does a great job of showing how clever and meta Craven’s writing and directing were, even inserting some lines for Drew Berrymore about how bad some of the Elm Street sequels were. RIP.

Will Smith targets the NFL in new ‘Concussion’ trailer

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While he’s remained working hard behind the scenes on upcoming films like the ‘Suicide Squad’ and the highly anticipated ‘Bad Boys III‘, Will Smith has been relatively quiet the past few years; in comparison to his usual level of work, at least.

But that all changes today with the impressive looking new ‘Concussion’ trailer, featuring the legendary Fresh Prince in one of his most serious roles to date. Starring as Dr. Bennett Omalu, the man who first discovered the now infamous CTE brain disease, Smith puts the NFL squarely in his targets in this new film. The trailer is explosive, and this is one storyline that has largely been swept aside by both the sports media, and their counterparts at large. A timely film that looks sure to generate some controversy, this new trailer is intense, and looks like it contains the makings of a great film. Check it out below.

The Weeknd buries himself in high concept new video

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It’s rare for an artist as controversial as The Weeknd to gain as much mainstream recognition as the Canadian crooner has already accumulated. But, when you sound like Michael Jackson, have an attention-getting haircut, and are seriously, seriously talented; sometimes unlikely things happen.

And the stylish new video for the Kanye West-produced ‘Tell Your Friends’ song from the artist’s new album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’, and helmed by filmmaker Grant Singer, seems to be very aware of the popular turn the artist’s career has taken. In the video, the singer appears to bury himself, or at least a side of himself, perhaps hinting that the popular tones he’s hit recently- the ones that have propelled him to serious popularity, might soon be abandoned in favor of a return to his darker, grittier roots. While it’s certainly open for interpretation, the song, and video are both very cool, and can be viewed below.

New fan theory video casts some serious doubts on The Karate Kid plot

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Balancing right on the edge of ‘things too obscure to blog about’ and ‘we used to love this movie, we can’t not talk about this’, comes a really interesting fan theory video on the legendary Karate Kid movie from the mid-80s. And perhaps even more interestingly, it’s a fan theory Barney Stinson stipulates in more than one episode of How I Met Your Mother.

The video, which convincingly incorporates footage from the 1984 classic (we can’t believe how old the movie is, either), states that in fact Daniel (the main character) was the bully, and not the generally despised zealots from down the road at the Cobra Kai Dojo, as is the usual interpretation of the iconic martial arts drama. And the argument it lays out really isn’t bad. It’s basically the following; it is ACTUALLY Daniel who initiates all of the violent fights in the movie! Now obviously, the whole thing is more than a bit tongue-in-cheek, the video is really well made, and honestly, kind of hard to argue against. It’s gone seriously viral the past day or so, and for good reason too. Check out the hilarious video, below.

Strange, unique new horror trailer premiers for upcoming ‘The Witch’ movie

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Horror movies are great. Loved by cinephiles and casual movie fans alike, there is some almost primal about being so scared by the images and sounds a film can present that you literally need to cover your eyes and ears. Or, even worse, are forced to do that awful (sometimes embarrassing) jump-out-of-your-seat move all movie goers are also familiar with. But, for all the amazing entertainment value that horror movies provide, they can be a bit formulaic. Whether its Jason XXIII, or Alien Vs. Whatever, it seems the industry sometimes recycles tried-and-true tropes they know will do solidly at the box office, before taking a risk on seriously ambitious, completely new content.

However, a new trailer for the film The Witch, shows that this is one movie that is as original as anything the genre has seen in years. Debuting widely in 2016, the film is said to have left audiences at Sundance and other film festivals literally speechless. Will this be the next horror film to join the ranks of The Exorcist and others as one of the best of all time? We shall see. Check out the trailer below, which (spoiler alert) doesn’t really contain any cheap jump-scares, making the whole thing seem even more promising in our minds.

New ‘Stars Wars; The Force Awakens’ international TV spot debuts

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Quickly after it appeared on the Korean ‘The Force Awakens’ YouTube page, the newest international trailer for the upcoming Star Wars film has quickly gone viral.

While most of the footage has been debuted already, it really does look amazing. J.J. Abrams is well known for adding a darker, grittier feel to the Star Trek series, and it appears that he may well be giving his new Star Wars film the same treatment.

After some of the sillier aspects of the last trilogy (who signed off on Jar Jar Binks, seriously), a turn toward the darker side of things (pun intended), might be a welcome one by many Star Wars fans.

Fan or not, the new spot is pretty sweet, although brief.

The next Game of Thrones? New Westworld teaser debuted by HBO

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Via: Source

Written by none other than Jonathan Nolan, brother of Christopher, and writer/collaborator on many of the latter’s films, Westworld is set to be the next big-budget HBO show. Whether this new series soars to heights of popularity similar of that to True Detective Season 1, or crashes-and-burns like that of True Detective Season 2, is yet to be revealed.

But, with an amazing cast (or did True Detective Season 2 show a strong cast does not a strong show make?) including Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Harris, and James Marsden, this one certainly looks promising. A pretty heady premise centering around questions of identity and reality can’t hurt either. Check out the new trailer, which premiered during the finale of True Detective Season 2 last night, below.